Hiwassee College

Hiwassee College
	Seal of Hiwassee College
Motto	Doctrina, Fide, Servus
Motto in English	"Learning, Faith, Service"
Type	Private
Active	1849–2019
Religious affiliation	United Methodist Church
Location	Madisonville, Tennessee, United States; 35.559°N 84.364°W
Campus	Rural
Colors	Maroon and Gold
Nickname	Tigers
Sporting affiliations	NCCAA Division I - Mideast Region
Website	www.hiwassee.edu

Hiwassee College was a private liberal arts college in Madisonville, Tennessee. Founded in 1849, the college offered associate degrees as well as bachelor's degrees. The majority of its associate degree graduates went on to complete bachelor's degrees elsewhere. The college closed on May 10, 2019 due to financial issues.[1]

History

Photo from the book Holston Methodism

Although closely tied to the Methodist Church since its founding, it was not until 1908 that the Trustees of Hiwassee College and the Holston Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South entered into an agreement for joint operation of the institution. Hiwassee College came under the complete control and ownership of the Methodist Church-South in 1937, shortly before its reunion with its northern counterpart in 1939. Prior to 1980, the three United Methodist-related colleges in the Holston Conference (a geographic region that includes East Tennessee and small parts of southwest Virginia and north Georgia) were governed by a unified Board of Trustees. In 1980, the Board of Trustees established a separate Board of Governors for each institution, and by 1990, each of the three colleges operated under a separate, independent Board of Trustees.

Hiwassee College was accredited with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, but in 2008 their accreditation was withdrawn.[2][3] On November 3, 2009 it attained candidacy status for accreditation as a Category II institution by the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS).[4] Full accreditation was obtained through TRACS in October 2013 and reaffirmed in 2018.

Closure and aftermath

The college closed on May 10, 2019 due to financial issues.[1] Students and alumni protested the announcement of the closure and many parents of enrolled students raised concerns about the lack of communication from the board of trustees. Neighboring colleges, including Maryville College, Pellissippi State Community College, and South College offered students transfer assistance.[5]

The Hiwassee College Alumni Association Inc. (HCAA) submitted a non-cash offer for the college and its debt in July 2019 with hopes of reopening the college.[6] The campus was put up for sale on January 2, 2020 for $8.6 million dollars.[7] The offering Memorandum states, "The Trustees of Hiwassee College now intend to divest the real property owned by the college, and as such are offering the property for sale."[8]

In January 2020, a former trustee of the college, William Harmon, a Maryville, Tennessee doctor sued the college for return of his $100,000 donation earmarked for construction of a new library which was to be named in his honor. According to its website, Harmon was the college's board of trustees secretary.[9] Harmon wants the Monroe County, Tennessee Chancery Court to find that the donation must paid back to him once the college sells.[10]

Campus

Hiwassee College's campus grew from the original 7 acres (28,000 m²) donated by Reverend Daniel B. Carter to a campus comprising 18 buildings situated on 60 acres (240,000 m²) of a 400-acre (1,600,000 m²) tract of land located one mile (1.6 km) north of the town of Madisonville.

Organization and administration

Hiwassee College was listed by the University Senate of the United Methodist Church. The Senate is an elected body of professionals in higher education created by the General Conference to determine which schools, colleges, universities, and theological schools meet the criteria for listing as institutions affiliated with the United Methodist Church.

Academics

The college offered a variety of university-parallel and career/vocational programs leading to the Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, Associate of Applied Science, Bachelor of Arts, or Bachelor of Science degrees.

Athletics

Hiwassee fielded 10 teams, known as the Tigers, and participated in the NCCAA's Division I. The school competed in the Mideast Region.[11] The Tigers have made National Championship appearances in baseball, men's basketball, and women's basketball.

Notable alumni

Antonio Burks, professional basketball player
Alexander Stephens Clay, former U.S. Senator
Isaac Cline, founder of the US Weather Bureau
Eric Griffin (born 1990), basketball player for Hapoel Gilboa Galil of the Israeli Basketball Premier League<ref>"Eric Griffin Stats, News, Bio". ESPN. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
David M. Key, former U.S. Senator and Postmaster General
Orlando Lightfoot, former professional basketball player
Albert H. Roberts, former Governor of Tennessee

References

Kast, Monica. "Hiwassee College to close after 170 years due to financial reasons". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
"Churches ask members to help financially strapped Hiwassee College". WATE-TV. February 15, 2009. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
"Hiwassee College's accreditation hearing set for Monday". The Monroe County Advocate. April 1, 2009. Archived from the original on July 20, 2012. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
"TRACS Institutions". Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
Kast, Monica (April 5, 2019). "Hiwassee College students protest school's closing: 'Hiwassee deserves better than all this'". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
Millsaps, Tommy; Kent, Jessica. "Alumni association submits proposal to buy Hiwassee College charter, campus". The Daily Times. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
"Hiwassee College- NAI Koella RM Moore". www.koellamoore.com. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
"Offering_Memorandum_-_Hiwassee_College_(updated_1.2.2020).pdf". NAI Koella RM Moore. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
"Hiwassee College Trustees - Hiwassee College - Madisonville, TN". www.hiwassee.edu. Archived from the original on April 13, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
Kast, Monica. "Hiwassee College trustee wants $100K gift back after school closed". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
"Hiwassee College - National Christian College Athletic Association". National Christian College Athletic Association. Retrieved April 13, 2019.

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[closure-1] Kast, Monica. "Hiwassee College to close after 170 years due to financial reasons". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved March 28, 2019.

[2] "Churches ask members to help financially strapped Hiwassee College". WATE-TV. February 15, 2009. Retrieved April 8, 2012.

[3] "Hiwassee College's accreditation hearing set for Monday". The Monroe County Advocate. April 1, 2009. Archived from the original on July 20, 2012. Retrieved April 8, 2012.

[4] "TRACS Institutions". Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools. Retrieved April 13, 2019.

[5] Kast, Monica (April 5, 2019). "Hiwassee College students protest school's closing: 'Hiwassee deserves better than all this'". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved March 15, 2020.

[6] Millsaps, Tommy; Kent, Jessica. "Alumni association submits proposal to buy Hiwassee College charter, campus". The Daily Times. Retrieved January 18, 2020.

[7] "Hiwassee College- NAI Koella RM Moore". www.koellamoore.com. Retrieved January 18, 2020.

[saledoc-8] "Offering_Memorandum_-_Hiwassee_College_(updated_1.2.2020).pdf". NAI Koella RM Moore. Retrieved January 18, 2020.

[9] "Hiwassee College Trustees - Hiwassee College - Madisonville, TN". www.hiwassee.edu. Archived from the original on April 13, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2020.

[suit-10] Kast, Monica. "Hiwassee College trustee wants $100K gift back after school closed". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved March 15, 2020.

[NCCAA-11] "Hiwassee College - National Christian College Athletic Association". National Christian College Athletic Association. Retrieved April 13, 2019.